Elephants are the poster child for the illegal wildlife trade. It is estimated that on average, 55 African elephants per day are killed for their ivory tusks.
Humans have coveted ivory for thousands of years, and demand eventually pushed elephants to the brink. International trade in their tusks is now banned, but a new product on the global market could be fuelling the flames for elephants: mammoth tusks.
In this episode of Wild Crimes, we'll find out how the trade in the tusks of extinct mammoths is influencing demand for elephant ivory. Are mammoths providing their living relatives with a lifeline, or are their tusks doing more harm than good?
Discover more with Museum Research Leader Prof Adrian Lister, Valery Plotnikov from the Academy of Sciences of Yakutia, trade investigator Lucy Vigne and ivory trade research specialist Linda Chou.
Learn more about mammoths, elephants and the illegal wildlife crime and support the Natural History Museum’s work at nhm.ac.uk/wildcrimes.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.